1,208 adults were asked, in reference to the news that the NHS will face a £15bn funding shortfall over the next decade, whether they felt that deeper cuts should be made elsewhere to protect the NHS as far as possible, or whether it should be treated in a similar way to other departments.

Sixty three per cent of the public held the view that the NHS should face cuts just like other departments.

Only a third thought that it should receive special protection.

Heavy majorities of Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters, as well as non-aligned voters, believed that the NHS should face cuts like other departments. Labour supporters also took this view, though by a much narrower majority.

I think this is a reflection that although Labour has poured vast amounts of money into the NHS, the level of service and patient care outcomes haven’t particularly improved.